". . . it is necessary for us to have an understanding of God himself in the beginning. If we start right, it is easy to go right all the time; but if we start wrong, it is a hard matter to get right."
-- Joseph Smith, Nauvoo, Ill. April 7, 1844

Monday, November 10, 2008

Boycott Mormon Utah . . . Please!

Now that Prop 8 has passed, those who are against it have started to show their true colors. With such radical protests aimed at the LDS Church, there is unintended consiquences that will help and not hurt Mormons. I hope they continue to attack Mormons (politically and not physically) because they are doing themselves some real harm in the long-run. As someone who is against "gay-marriage" that isn't a bad thing.

Probably the least effective is the boycott of Utah. I would hope that they go through with the boycott because it will help the conservative culture living there. What they plan on boycotting is not exactly liked by Mormons anyway. From an Associated Press article:

He is calling for skiers to choose any state but Utah and for Hollywood actors and directors to pull out of the Sundance Film Festival. Other bloggers and readers have responded to his call.

"There's a movement afoot and large donors are involved who are very interested in organizing a campaign, because I do not believe in frivolous boycotts," said Aravosis, who has helped organize boycotts against "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger's television show, Microsoft and Ford over gay rights issues.

"The main focus is going to be going after the Utah brand," he said. "At this point, honestly, we're going to destroy the Utah brand. It is a hate state."

Probably one of the best things to happen is if Hollywood actors and directors pull out of the Sundance Film Festival. It was instituted partly to antagonize the nearby conservative Mormon population. Seeing the festival go away or at least dramatically decrease would be a cultural sigh of relief. The secondary place that would be effected is Park City, another culturally isolated town. Conservative Mormons might think it is a nice place to visit, but they wouldn't want to buy a house. Salt Lake City is still considered Mormon, but that distinction is become less true. Large as it is, the City has continued to become distinct from the rest of the state. Only its size and history has kept it tied to the surrounding culture.

Calls to find other places to ski might be the most problematic, but even that is not going to destroy much of Utah economy. There are so many locals and fellow Mormons from other states that like to ski that a dramatic shift in visitors will be negligable. After all, not everyone is from California and not everyone who is not Mormon agrees with the "gay-marriage" protestors. The positives are that fewer "gay-marriage" supporters and Californians will visit, to the pleasure of the conservatives and many locals.

The most lasting economic campaign would be to boycott developing or moving businesses to Utah. A few places might get hit, but Salt Lake City would take the brunt of the actions. Not that conservative Mormons would mind much. It is the influx of so many non-Mormons because of big business that have brought Salt Lake City into conflict with the State's cultural majority. Gutting the economy of the capital city would go a long way to bringing it more in line politically.

Probably the most important development to all this protesting is a more positive acceptance by the conservative religious. They are starting to open their eyes to what is happening to Mormons, and starting to come to a defense:

Pastor Chris Clark of the East Claremont Baptist Church in California said, "Unfortunately, I know in the wake of the Prop. 8 passage, the Mormon Church has been targeted, unfairly so."

Clark says the coalition includes Roman Catholic bishops, Evangelical Christians and secular groups such as the National Organization for Marriage and the Liberty Council.

There are those who will hate Mormons no matter what, but that can change for some. At least two Catholic Bishops have expressed outrage at the treatment of Mormons. A few prominant Protestants involved with Prop 8 have also shown support and thankfulness. Even Mike Huckubee stated on Fox his belief that Mormons had every right to participate. Coming from him that is praise.

In the end the idea that this has been a PR disaster for the LDS Church depends on what you mean by disaster. Mormons have gained respect from the conservative community that they otherwise would not have had. Those they have angered never really liked Mormons and have now found an excuse to voice what they have only hinted at before. The more they yell, then the more sympathy will be generated toward those more disposed to conservative and traditional marriage. The U.S. membership might not go up, and in fact shrink because of the increased secularization of the nation, but the LDS Church gained influence in circles that were previously closed. The negatives for liberal leaning might seem huge, but the positives for conservative leaning is worth the fight.

7 comments:

I found and interesting comment today on Michele Malkin's blog about the protests.

Something that has been missing from all the LDS Feminist blogs bemoaning the passes of this Admendment in California.

The Homosexual community already have laws in place that grant them everything they want from the secular standpoint. Domestic Partnerships allow them the tax breaks, hospital visitations (which as far as I know has eased over the years to include any significant other anyway), and death benefits.

I personally am not opposed to most of those issues, and I find it very disingenous to have had the opposition imply that this is what the Marriage status would have given them. All they were seaking was the title "marriage", and I would ask to what purpose. I would dare say the true colors are showing, and that the attacks on religion would have started if the passage failed. Although they state they would not force it on religion, we know that is the direction it would go.

These are interesting points I hadn't thought of before. Besides the silliness of most of the antiMormon (and antiUtah --- who's equating church and state now?) rhetoric, I hadn't given it much thought other than, living in the Bay Area, it's made things hard on missionaries here. But you're right: it may result in more solidarity in other places and spheres.

Once again: God knows what he's doing. I don't, though you may have uncovered a hint.

You know what's funny? Gay people are attacking their own kind with this boycott! It's so ironic, it makes me chuckle!! They would mainly hurt Park City and Salt Lake City the most, the two cities in Utah that probably support their cause more than anywhere else in the state! The fact that they want to punish the 40% non-Mormons to spite the 60% Mormons is also rather halarious!

When you mention how they are destroying their cause, I couldn't agree more! This election (and the last one that delt with this issue in 2000) have shown that they absolutely, possitively need the suport of sub-urban and religious voters to pass their agenda.

Even though about 20% more of the electorate has moved behind their agenda in 2008 than in 2000, a 5% majority still spoke. 5% is a lot! That's the same margin that Obama won the general election, which was a landslide compared to any other modern election to date.

This all goes to show that sub-urban and religous voters still run the show in California, which means that it is them who gay activists must get to rally behind them to pass their agenda. With that as their only feasible option, I can't possibly see how they are helping their cause by bashing, targeting, and attacking these very people. They should be building bridges and in-roads to these demographics, not polorizing their base like McCain did. That is a recipee for disaster! You're then left with the majority against the cause and a super-heated, angery, and violent base. Sure McCain didn't quite get to the extreme the gay activists have gone, but the random shouts of "kill him!", "terrorist!", and "communist!" at McCain rallies did show a rather disturbing paradigm within the base.

Such a paradigm has errupted within the "gay rights" movement, but has magnified to a much more extreme version. I mean, you don't see hard-core McCain people pillaging gay clubs and black-listing gay-supporting companies!

This whole thing is a mess! I just hope that the voice of the people is upheld and that the judges rule for the majority and not thrust a minority agenda upon the majority!

Well I would like to thank your for not deleting my post. It means a lot too me. I hope that LDS people who disapprove of Obama will find it in their hearts and minds to understand why people of their faith did support him.

In regards to this post, I have another thought. Why the heck are gays black-listing "Mormon" companies?? I read through a gay blog and saw a list of companies which had a "Mormon in a high-ranking position" (CEO, VP, Pres, etc.) Are you ready for this? These companies include: Jamba Juice, American Express, Priceline.com, Dell Computers, Mariott Hotels, La Quinta Hotels, Jet Blue Airlines, Skywest Airlines, Black and Decker, Utah...the list goes on.

All I have to say is "Bring it!" I would seriously be impressed if they were able to convince a group substancial enough to adversely effect these companies. I doubt they will even convince their own supporters to shred their American Express cards and stop drinking their Jamba Juices. Another thing that is just plain sad is the fact that every gay person I know absolutely loves 'Twilight'. I guess they will have to dump this series from their reading list now.

Lol, I just thought of something else. They will have to boycott their own government. Considering that 10% of the US Senate is Mormon and the Senate Majority Leader is Mormon, they will now have to leave the country.

About Me

I am an Idaho native who likes to read and write about a variety of subjects. I graduated with a B.A. in English from BYU. Mormonism, one of my main interests, has fascinated me ever since my early teenage years.